Embodiments of the invention generally relate to the field of computer networks.
Computer systems often use multiple computers that are coupled together in a common chassis. The computers may be separate servers that are coupled by a common backbone within the chassis. Each server is a pluggable board that includes at least one processor, an on-board memory, and an Input/Output (I/O) interface. Further, the servers may be connected to a switch to expand the capabilities of the servers. For example, the switch may permit the servers to access additional Ethernet networks or Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) slots as well as permit communication between servers in the same or different chassis. In addition, multiple switches may also be combined to create a distributed network switch.
In computer networking, packets or frames may be sent from a source to one or more destinations using, among other approaches, unicast, broadcast, and multicast routing schemes. A unicast transmission refers to one-to-one sending of a message to a single network destination identified by a unique address. A multicast transmission refers to a one-to-many communication to a group of network destinations simultaneously in a single transmission from the source. Broadcasting refers to transmitting a packet that will be received by every destination on a network, typically limited to a particular broadcast domain.